Media Prima Bhd has announced the appointment of Datuk Johan Jaaffar, a veteran of Malaysia’s news industry, as the group’s executive chairman, effective Thursday.Johan, who is now Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka chairman, is taking over from retiring Media Prima non-executive chairman Datuk Abdul Mutalib Razak.

He will also assume all board posts vacated by Abdul Mutalib, including the chairmanship of TV3 and other Media Prima subsidiaries.

“The Board of Directors is confident that under his leadership, Media Prima Group will continue its strong track record of delivering shareholders value,” Media Prima said in a statement.

Abdul Mutalib has led the integrated media group for five years, the period of the group’s aggressive expansion that saw the consolidation of the free-to-air television business, namely TV3, 8tv, ntv7 and TV9, as well as the entry into new media platforms like radio and outdoor advertising.

During his tenure, Media Prima more than doubled its net profit to RM117.4 million last year, breaching the RM100 million-mark for the first time.

Abdul Mutalib was also instrumental in leading the group’s international expansion, which resulted in the collaboration of news content-gathering, joint production, exchange of documentaries and dramas as well as provision of training and consultancy services in Oman, Pakistan and the Maldives.

The incoming Johan, meanwhile, is no stranger to the media business, having been Utusan Melayu (M) Bhd group chief editor and executive director between November 1992 and July 1998.

During his tenure at the Malay language media group, Johan was responsible for the daily and weekly papers, as well as 13 other magazines and journals published by the group.

During that period, he served as a board member of national news agency Bernama and a member of Malaysian Business Council and Multimedia Development Corp.

Besides being a columnist for the New Straits Times and Berita Minggu, Johan is also Ikatan Setiakawan Wartawan Malaysia-Indonesia chairman. He had also hosted the weekly “Debat Perdana” television programme for eight seasons.

He is currently executive director of public relations company Alpha Platform, chairman of private school Sekolah Sri Nobel and a board member of Sindora Bhd.